China’s wine production to overtake Australia’s in next 3 years

CHINA’S wine production is growing so rapidly it could overtake Australia in the next three years, a new industry report shows. A report by French wine exhibition organisers Vinexpo shows China produced 72 million cases of wine in 2009, up 28 per cent from the previous year.

Denis Gastin, a commercial wine writer who regularly travels to China, said the increase was driven by growth in the Chinese domestic market.

He said Australian consumers were unlikely to see bottles of Chinese wine hitting the shelves in the immediate future.

“Some Chinese labels have exhibited internationally and sold a tiny amount of wine,” Mr Gastin said.